Angel Noakes graduated from Michigan State University in spring 2026 with a marketing degree and little coding experience. By the end of July, she and a team of fellow Spartans had built a working healthcare app using artificial intelligence.

Noakes was one of roughly 25 MSU students and recent graduates who spent the last week of July at the Apple Developer Academy in Detroit, learning AI-assisted coding and app development through a new pilot program funded by MSU's AI-Ready Spartans: Education Innovation Grant, according to MSU Today.

Her team's creation, Pass for Patient, works like a matchmaking platform for healthcare. Users enter their medical needs and browse physician recommendations filtered by insurance, proximity and appointment availability.

"I didn't realize how simple it was to type in a prompt and have AI code it entirely for you," Noakes said. "I didn't even know that was an option."

$506,000 across 18 proposals

The Apple Developer Academy pilot is one of the first projects launched under the AI-Ready Spartans grant pool, a new MSU initiative that awarded more than $506,000 across 18 proposals selected from 38 submissions. An interdisciplinary committee of more than 20 faculty and staff reviewed the applications, with final approval from vice provost for academic innovation Marcio Oliveira and Green and White Council co-chair Sanjay Gupta.

The funded proposals focus on building new curricula or expanding existing programs around responsible, creative AI use across MSU's colleges.

Non-engineers welcome

Participants came from majors including journalism, communications and experience architecture. No coding background was required. The program wrapped Friday, July 31, with students earning certificates after a week combining the Apple Developer Academy's approach to app design and business with AI tools.

Beyond Pass for Patient, student teams built apps aimed at strengthening human connection and connecting clinics with nonprofits to redistribute unused medication. Charisma Holly, a sophomore studying communication leadership and strategy, said the week gave her portfolio-ready projects and resume-ready technical skills she can use immediately.

Sarah Gretter, director of the Apple Developer Academy at MSU, said the program's AI-readiness framework rests on four pillars: delegation, description, discernment and diligence. She said technology becomes a vehicle for human collaboration and creativity, and the goal is preparing MSU graduates to show up in the workforce as leaders and collaborators.

Broader context for Lansing-area families

The Apple Developer Academy, a partnership between MSU, Apple and the Gilbert Family Foundation, is the only such academy in North America. It launched in Detroit in 2021 and has welcomed more than 1,800 students through its free programs. The grant pool funded proposals across MSU's colleges, not just engineering or computer science, expanding AI training to students in fields like communications and journalism.

Faculty and students interested in future AI-Ready Spartans grant rounds can find information at ai.msu.edu/ai-ready. No deadline for the next application cycle has been announced.